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| Taken by @denise_clare on Instagram |
I am working with a group of ladies on a scripture memorization project called ‘Who Am I”. Sharon Thomas leads the ministry, Established Footsteps, and every week she offers a correlating message and devotion about the verse we’re reading.
This week’s message is based on Ephesians 1:7-8 “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” In it she uses the illustration of children playing with sand to talk about grace and the things that we marvel over.
One day while observing children playing on the beach; she was captivated by how impressed they were with ordinary sand. How they couldn’t wait to show their parents. Over and over again they would grab it, show it, and let it go. Yet we do the same with our own marvels. Before we know it we’re letting something go, then again grabbing another marvel and hoping to impress someone with it. Then losing interest and letting go again. Then she asks us how excited we over the treasures that come with our salvation.
That question alone was thought-provoking enough and I hope you listen to her message. But there was something else that spoke to me about it.
Like Sharon, and most likely you too, I love the beach. There are too many things to list, as to why; The healing property of salt (the way it dries sinuses & heals wounds), a sun-kissed tan, admiring sea life, being refreshed and cooled by the water, collecting shells and other treasures, sounds, smells and many others.
When I think about Sharon’s message with the verse and description, I imagine myself looking up and down the beaches and how, in most cases, it goes on as far as the eye can see.
It also reminds me of the following verses:
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
Our verses in these projects are grouped by topics. This week’s verse is under ‘Possession’. Here we see, in the verses that came to my heart, that He made us only a little lower than angels & gave us authority over all of the things in his creation for permanent possession.
And yet how many times do we complain because the sand is too hot. The water is too cold. The jellyfish are out or we're mad about all of the junk that we decided to bring to the beach when no one told us to carry it or bring it!
And just like a day at the beach, how similar is that to our life story? What marvels do we miss because of where we're looking? –What things do we bring into our day because we think that we need them but they end up being a burden instead?
Just as we have authority over everything else that the Lord created, we [you and I] also are a part of what he has made. We have authority over ourselves, to change, to choose, to fix our eyes and/or thoughts…
We stand in the midst of blessing after blessing that He freely gives and lavishes on us. Yet our will and our vision, sometimes, keeps us from seeing them. We let the authority of something else skew our perspective or the power of feelings, even if they’re out of line, dictate our actions. What about Fear? How many things do we hand over to fear while remaining captive instead of pushing forward or through its barriers?
Yet ALL authority has been given to us...
Gosh, I feel like I could rattle on but I won’t. Consider this day that the Lord has made and given to you. What things take authority in your life? Is it people or tasks? Is there are habit or regret that you allow to shape your day, mostly because it has been there days before? What, in your life or in the spiritual realm, is waiting for you to take possession?
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